Glenwood Iron Mountain Railroad Depot

The Glenwood Iron Mountain Railroad Depot is a former depot located in Glenwood (Pike County). Constructed around 1910 by the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 28, 1996.

Glenwood was platted in 1907 when the railroad reached the area. The area around the town soon began to support a number of lumber mills, and the settlement grew rapidly. In order to ship the large amounts of timber from the area quickly, another rail line was laid in 1910.

Few details from the construction are available. Although the building is currently a single-story frame structure on a concrete-block foundation, the depot was originally constructed with a central second story topped with a cupola. The second story was removed around 1948. It is currently topped with a gable-on-hip roof with the modern composition shingles that replaced the original wooden shingles.

The structure is utilitarian in design. Three wooden freight doors are located in different areas to allow the easy loading of items onto railcars. The roof has wide overhanging eaves with tongue-and-groove boards covering the underside. This wide overhang was typical of depots in this era and gave the freight and passengers protection from the elements. The walls are covered with weatherboard. When nominated to the National Register, the building had very little paint remaining on the walls. It was later repainted beige with brown trim.

The building contains numerous windows, all of which were originally one-over-one double hung. A sign reading “Glenwood” extends across the southeast end of the building. Two restrooms were added to the northwest end in the 1940s. The interior of the building was intact at the time of the nomination and included the original floor and beaded board walls and ceiling in the passenger area. The freight area walls are covered with wide flush planks.

The Missouri Pacific Railroad no longer needed the structure by 1969, and it was purchased and moved from its original location by Chester Cole. Installed about one mile south of the town, it was used as a hay barn. In 1988, Cole deeded the depot to the city after selling his farm. In November 1995, it was moved back to Glenwood with assistance from officials of the Ouachita National Forest. The original location of the depot had become a road intersection, so it was installed a short distance away, facing southwest.

The depot was nominated to the National Register along with a number of other structures associated with railroads across the state. While no longer in the original location, it continues to serve as a good representation of typical small-town depots in western Arkansas. It currently houses the Glenwood Chamber of Commerce. Several sets of wooden steps and a ramp were added to the exterior of the building. A restored train caboose is located next to the building.

For additional information:
Glenwood Chamber of Commerce. https://glenwoodarkansaschamber.com/ (accessed May 28, 2020).

“Glenwood Iron Mountain Railroad Depot.” National Register for Historic Places registration form. On file at Arkansas Historic Preservation Office, Little Rock, Arkansas. Online at http://www.arkansaspreservation.com/National-Register-Listings/PDF/PI0015.nr.pdf (accessed May 28, 2020).

David Sesser
Henderson State University